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WAXERS, RAIDERS TIE ONE IN
PRESEASON FINALE Through the club's first three contests, the head coach knows his charges can score goals and take care of matters in their own end of the rink. But Herrington learned something new when the Waxers took to the ice for its final Provincial Junior A Hockey League preseason game against the host Wexford Raiders on Sunday. What Herrington learned should bode well during the upcoming regular season as the Waxers battled back from a two-goal deficit in the final period to salvage a 3-3 tie. The tie enabled the Waxers to conclude its preseason schedule with a respectable 3-0-1 mark. "It was our poorest performance of our four preseason games, especially the first two periods. But I thought we played well in the third period. The guys showed a lot of character to come back," assessed Herrington as his club prepares for Thursday's regular season opener on the road against the Huntsville Wildcats. The Waxers trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes and 2-0 early in the second stanza before Bryan Lachapelle cut the deficit with six minutes left in the period. But the Raiders scored another goal with just 11 seconds left in the period to take a 3-1 lead. The Waxers, however, rallied midway in the final period with unanswered goals by Ian Malcolm and Chris Bahen to tie the game. Tom Lawson played a solid game in goal, handling 35 of 38 shots, including 12 in the final period and overtime to help preserve the tie.
Markham native Mark Johnson scored the first goal for the Raiders. In assessing what transpired during training camp and the preseason slate, Herrington was happy with the effort put forward by his troops. He felt his club accomplished what it set out to do. Now it's a matter of waiting for the opening faceoff on Thursday when the club begins to play for keeps. "We're buoyed by the success we had in the preseason. But we can't put too much stock into it," warned Herrington, who will employ four forward lines and seven defencemen. "At the same time though, it's nice to have some momentum going into the regular season." "We're anxious (to get the regular season going). We were that way three weeks ago when camp opened. It's intensified a little.".
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